On a cold November evening in Jackson, members of the Mississippi NAACP gathered to hear that a Democrat had unseated a long-entrenched Republican, a result measured in a few thousand ballots out of nearly a million cast. Scott Colom, a 43-year-old prosecutor, becomes the first Black senator from Mississippi in more than a century and a half, ending a forty-odd-year run of Republican victories in state Senate contests. His win arrives in a season when many voters, weary of rising prices, tariffs and a distant war, reached for a different kind of leadership, and it reminds us how much a quiet,
Democrat Scott Colom wins Mississippi Senate race by under 5,000 votes, the first Black Mississippian elected to the Senate in 140+ years
"When you fight, you win."
Mark
Why does this one stand out among all the Democratic flips?
Mimi
Mississippi hasn't sent a Republican-free Senate result since 1982, and Trump won it by more than 22 points in 2024. Add the history: no black Mississippian elected to the Senate in over 140 years.
Mark
Colom credited local people. Is that just speech language?
Mimi
Leon Russell of the NAACP said much the same thing, that there was little money but a lot of organising. And Colom visited all 82 counties.
Luke
Careful, though. Those are their own accounts of why they won. The reporting doesn't show which of those efforts moved the votes.
Mark
What about the national mood?
Mimi
Polls and exit polls point to frustration over the economy, tariffs and the Iran war. Colom used it, calling Hyde-Smith "Cindy High Prices".
Luke
Notice the wording is that polls suggest. It's a likely driver, not a measured one. And the margin was under 5,000 votes, so many things could have tipped it.
Mark
And Hyde-Smith's side?
Mimi
Her campaign tied Colom to George Soros, whose family has helped fund his campaigns. She was also criticised for few public appearances. She conceded graciously on X.
Luke
Whether those factors cost her votes isn't established. The vote figures come from CBS. And Alaska is still undecided, so the final Senate tally isn't settled.
Il Polso
- The race was decided by fewer than five thousand votes, leaving every ballot count and waiting day charged with suspense.
- A Democrat has toppled an incumbent Republican in a state Trump carried by more than twenty-two points, jolting expectations across the map.
- Colom campaigned in all 82 counties, pressing economic anger over tariffs while his opponent faced attacks linking him to George Soros.
- Hyde-Smith conceded graciously online, yet the national Senate balance now hinges on a still-unresolved Alaska race that could widen or narrow the Democratic majority.
On a cold November evening in Jackson, members of the Mississippi NAACP gathered to hear that a Democrat had unseated a long-entrenched Republican, a result measured in a few thousand ballots out of nearly a million cast. Scott Colom, a 43-year-old prosecutor, becomes the first Black senator from Mississippi in more than a century and a half, ending a forty-odd-year run of Republican victories in state Senate contests. His win arrives in a season when many voters, weary of rising prices, tariffs and a distant war, reached for a different kind of leadership, and it reminds us how much a quiet, relentless local effort can still outweigh the money and momentum around it.
On Wednesday evening, the Jackson headquarters of the Mississippi NAACP erupted in cheers when word came that Scott Colom had won the state's US Senate race. The room, filled with people who had waited days through a slow count, embraced one another as the news spread.
The margin was razor-thin. Colom took 49.2% of the vote to Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith's 48.7%, with an independent collecting the rest. Colom, 43, becomes the first Black senator from Mississippi in more than 140 years, and his victory ends a Republican streak in the state's Senate contests that stretches back to 1982.
Hyde-Smith, 67, conceded in a video posted online, congratulating Colom and saying she respected the decision of Mississippi voters. Colom spoke that night at Tougaloo College to hundreds of supporters standing under the open sky. He thanked them for their patience and gave the credit to ordinary people. "It's something we did," he told them.
The contest was never expected to be this close, since Trump carried the state by more than 22 points in 2024. Colom, a local prosecutor, rode a national mood shaped by frustration over the economy, the tariffs and the war with Iran. He called his opponent "Cindy High Prices," visited every county, and built a campaign that leaders at the NAACP credited to organising rather than money.
The final Senate tally now stands at 55 Democratic seats, with Alaska still to be decided. That outcome will shape how large the party's hold on the chamber truly becomes.
On Wednesday evening, in the Jackson headquarters of the Mississippi NAACP, dozens of people were gathered when word came that Scott Colom had won. The room erupted in applause and cheering, and people embraced across it. Colom, a Democrat, had defeated the Republican incumbent, Cindy Hyde-Smith, in the state's US Senate race.
The margin was thin. Fewer than five thousand votes, out of nearly a million counted, separated the two. According to figures from CBS, Colom took 49.2% of the vote to Hyde-Smith's 48.7%, with an independent candidate collecting 2.1%. Colom is 43. He becomes the first black person from Mississippi elected to the US Senate in more than 140 years, and his win ends a Republican winning streak in the state's Senate contests that dates back to 1982.
Hyde-Smith, who is 67, conceded in a video posted on X on Wednesday evening. She congratulated Colom and wished him well. "While this was not the outcome we worked for or hoped for, I respect the decision of Mississippi voters," she said.
Colom gave his victory speech at Tougaloo College, before hundreds of supporters standing shoulder to shoulder under the night sky. He thanked them for their patience during the days of waiting for a result after the 4 November election. "They did not believe a moment like this was possible, but I kept the faith," he said. He then turned the credit outward: "It's not something that I did y'all. It's something we did." And: "In Mississippi, it's local people that make the difference."
At the NAACP office, board chairman Leon Russell attributed the result chiefly to the black community. "There was not a whole lot of money, but there was a whole lot of organising," he said, calling it a historic election. Amber Thomas, sitting among the embracing crowd, said she was overwhelmed with joy. "When you fight, you win," she said.
The contest was never expected to be this close. Donald Trump carried Mississippi in 2024 by more than 22 points. But these midterms have gone heavily the Democrats' way: the party has taken control of both the US House of Representatives and the Senate, and flipped Senate seats in Republican strongholds including Texas, South Carolina, Kansas and Iowa. Exit polls and other polling point largely to voter frustration over the economy, blamed on the administration's tariffs, and over the war with Iran under President Trump.
Colom, a local prosecutor, leaned into that mood. He criticised Hyde-Smith's support for the tariffs and gave her the nickname "Cindy High Prices". He campaigned aggressively, visiting all 82 of Mississippi's counties. Hyde-Smith's campaign, for its part, attacked him as a puppet of the billionaire liberal donor George Soros, whose family has helped fund Colom's political campaigns. She was also criticised for making few public appearances.
The result leaves Democrats with 55 seats in the 100-member Senate, with a knife-edge race in Alaska still to be called. That outcome will determine how large the party's majority finally is.
Citazioni salienti
It's not something that I did y'all. It's something we did.— Scott Colom, victory speech at Tougaloo College
There was not a whole lot of money, but there was a whole lot of organising.— Leon Russell, NAACP board chairman
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